Caitlin Star Lindsay Felton Does It Her Own Way

Lindsay Felton doesn't talk like her screen personality, Caitlin Seeger. She's polite, mature, professional and without the hotheaded barbs that spike Caitlin's discourse.

Orphan Caitlin, a street-tough teenager, gets sent to live with her mother's cousin in Montana after getting caught stealing, card-sharking and just generally being a nuisance back home in Philadelphia.

She ruefully notes, as she stares across the wide open space, that maybe Montana was worse than her other option -- juvenile jail.

Lindsay certainly doesn't share these sentiments. For six months, the L.A. teen moved to Alberta, Canada, where Nickelodeon's 8 p.m. Sunday kids drama Caitlin's Way was filmed.

"I like it," she says, "because it's a taste of two different worlds." She says living in western Canada introduced her to new people and new things. experiences in Montana often involve learning to admit that she doesn't know everything. Take, for instance, Bandit, the beautiful wild horse Caitlin befriends in the show, treating the animal like a stray kitten.

Dori, the cousin of Caitlin's deceased mother, happens to be a vet and tries to warn her young charge of inherent dangers. Caitlin pays this older, wiser woman no heed.

Lindsay sees this difference between herself and her screen personality. "Caitlin, she's had a very rough past. I've grown up with a very stable family. She's a lot more bitter than I could ever be."

The original story didn't have a Caitlin in the lead role. The plot centered on a confused young man. Lindsay auditioned for another part in the show. She recalls that as she was auditioning, things got strange.

"They were all whispering," she says, "and I didn't know what was going on." Her mother got called over to talk to the grownups.

Ideas changed as creator Tommy Lynch, and others, decided Lindsay should be the series' star. The lead was switched from a boy's role to a girl's. "I still can't believe they did that for me," Lindsay says.

But Lynch, whose other Nickelodeon shows include The Journey of Allen Strange and The Secret World of Alex Mack, had made up his mind.

Being in such a high-profile role has its ups and downs. "It's hard work and long hours." But be ready for fun, too. One new experience for Lindsay, in the mountains of Canada, has been hearing country music. "I really like the Dixie Chicks," she says. Obviously, those wide open spaces agree with her.